Vasileios Gkinis

Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age

The last glacial period exhibited abrupt Dansgaard–Oeschger climatic oscillations, evidence of which is preserved in a variety of Northern Hemisphere palaeoclimate archives. Ice cores show that Antarctica cooled during the warm phases of the Greenland Dansgaard–Oeschger cycle and vice versa, suggesting an interhemispheric redistribution of heat through a mechanism called the bipolar seesaw. Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) strength are thought to have been important, but much uncertainty remains regarding the dynamics and trigger of these abrupt events. Key information is contained in the relative phasing of hemispheric climate variations, yet the large, poorly constrained difference between gas age and ice age and the relatively low resolution of methane records from Antarctic ice cores have so far precluded methane-based synchronization at the required sub-centennial precision. Here we use a recently drilled high-accumulation Antarctic ice core to show that, on average, abrupt Greenland warming leads the corresponding Antarctic cooling onset by 218 ± 92 years (2σ) for Dansgaard–Oeschger events, including the Bølling event; Greenland cooling leads the corresponding onset of Antarctic warming by 208 ± 96 years. Our results demonstrate a north-to-south directionality of the abrupt climatic signal, which is propagated to the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes by oceanic rather than atmospheric processes. The similar interpolar phasing of warming and cooling transitions suggests that the transfer time of the climatic signal is independent of the AMOC background state. Our findings confirm a central role for ocean circulation in the bipolar seesaw and provide clear criteria for assessing hypotheses and model simulations of Dansgaard–Oeschger dynamics.

Greenland temperature response to climate forcing during the last deglaciation.

Old and older, cold and colder Greenland surface air temperatures changed dramatically during the last deglaciation. The exact amount is unknown, which makes it difficult to understand what caused those changes. Buizert et al. report temperature reconstructions for the period from 19,000 to 10,000 years before the present from three different locations in Greenland and interpret them with a climate model (see the Perspective by Sime). They provide the broad geographic pattern of temperature variability and infer the mechanisms of the changes and their seasonality, which differ in important ways from the traditional view. Science, this issue p. 1177; see also p. 1116 Multiple proxies from ice cores show the spatial pattern of warming in Greenland over the last deglaciation. Greenland ice core water isotopic composition (δ18O) provides detailed evidence for abrupt climate changes but is by itself insufficient for quantitative reconstruction of past temperatures and their spatial patterns. We investigate Greenland temperature evolution during the last deglaciation using independent reconstructions from three ice cores and simulations with a coupled ocean-atmosphere climate model. Contrary to the traditional δ18O interpretation, the Younger Dryas period was 4.5° ± 2°C warmer than the Oldest Dryas, due to increased carbon dioxide forcing and summer insolation. The magnitude of abrupt temperature changes is larger in central Greenland (9° to 14°C) than in the northwest (5° to 9°C), fingerprinting a North Atlantic origin. Simulated changes in temperature seasonality closely track changes in the Atlantic overturning strength and support the hypothesis that abrupt climate change is mostly a winter phenomenon.

Water isotope diffusion rates from the NorthGRIP ice core for the last 16,000 years – Glaciological and paleoclimatic implications

Abstract A high resolution (0.05 m) water isotopic record ( δ O 18 ) is available from the NorthGRIP ice core. In this study we look into the water isotope diffusion history as estimated by the spectral characteristics of the δ O 18 time series covering the last 16,000 years. The diffusion of water vapor in the porous medium of the firn pack attenuates the initial isotopic signal, predominantly having an impact on the high frequency components of the power spectrum. Higher temperatures induce higher rates of smoothing and thus the signal can be used as a firn paleothermometer. We use a water isotope diffusion model coupled to a steady-state densification model in order to infer the temperature signal from the site, assuming the accumulation and strain rate history as estimated using the GICC05 layer counted chronology and a Dansgaard–Johnsen ice flow model. The temperature reconstruction accurately captures the timing and magnitude of the Bolling–Allerod and Younger Dryas transitions. A Holocene climatic optimum is seen between 7 and 9 ky b2k with an apparent cooling trend thereafter. Our temperature estimate for the Holocene climatic optimum, points to a necessary adjustment of the ice thinning function indicating that the ice flow model overestimates past accumulation rates by about 10% at 8 ky b2k. This result, is supported by recent gas isotopic fractionation studies proposing a similar reduction for glacial conditions. Finally, the record presents a climatic variability over the Holocene spanning millennial and centennial scales with a profound cooling occurring at approximately 4000 years b2k. The new reconstruction technique is able to provide past temperature estimates by overcoming the issues apparent in the use of the classical δ O 18 slope method. It can at the same time resolve temperature signals at low and high frequencies.

A continuous stream flash evaporator for the calibration of an IR cavity ring-down spectrometer for the isotopic analysis of water

A new technique for high-resolution simultaneous isotopic analysis of δ18O and δD in liquid water is presented. A continuous stream flash evaporator has been designed that is able to vapourise a stream of liquid water in a continuous mode and deliver a stable and finely controlled water vapour sample to a commercially available infrared cavity ring-down spectrometer. Injection of sub-microlitre amounts of the liquid water is achieved by pumping liquid water sample through a fused silica capillary and instantaneously vapourising it with 100% efficiency in a home-made oven at a temperature of 170 °C. The systems simplicity, low power consumption and low dead volume together with the possibility for automated unattended operation provides a solution for the calibration of laser instruments performing isotopic analysis of water vapour. Our work is mainly driven by the possibility to perform high-resolution online water isotopic analysis on continuous-flow analysis (CFA) systems typically used to analyse the chemical composition of ice cores drilled in polar regions. In the following, we describe the systems precision and stability and sensitivity to varying levels of sample size and we assess the observed memory effects. A test run with standard waters of different isotopic compositions is presented, demonstrating the ability to calibrate the spectrometers measurements on a VSMOW scale with a relatively simple and fast procedure.

Water isotopic ratios from a continuously melted ice core sample

A new technique for on-line high resolution isotopic analysis of liquid water, tailored for ice core studies is presented. We built an interface between a Wavelength Scanned Cavity Ring Down Spectrometer (WS-CRDS) purchased from Picarro Inc. and a Continuous Flow Analysis (CFA) system. The system offers the possibility to perform simultaneous water isotopic analysis of

Molecular diffusion of stable water isotopes in polar firn as a proxy for past temperatures

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A stratigraphic framework for abrupt climatic changes during the Last Glacial period based on three synchronized Greenland ice-core records: refining and extending the INTIMATE event stratigraphy

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Continuous monitoring of summer surface water vapor isotopic composition above the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Calibrated high-precision 17 O-excess measurements using cavity ring-down spectroscopy with laser-current-tuned cavity resonance

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Continuous measurements of methane mixing ratios from ice cores

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